Warriors AU: The Darkest Hour

Chapter 17

Author's Note: How about an extra chapter as an apology? :)

"Quick—the stepping stones!" Sandstar hissed.

Alone, the Thunderclan cats could have raced easily out of danger, but none of them would abandon the prisoners. Silverstream fell back to join Patchpaw as rearguard, while Sandstar tried to urge on the Riverclan cats.

"You'll have to leave us!" Blackclaw gasped. "There's no sense in all of us being captured."

"Never!" snarled Silverstream. "We're all in this together."

By now they were bounding alongside the river, the Riverclan cats stumbling in their efforts to keep up. Sandstar could already see the ripples in the water where the current was broken by the stepping stones. But the yowling behind them grew louder, and when he turned his head to draw in a rapid gulp of air he could taste the scent of Shadowclan.

"Great Starclan!" he whispered. "They're catching up."

None of the pursuing cats had appeared yet by the time they reached the stepping stones. Sandstar leaped onto the first stone, then the second, and gestured with his tail for Blackclaw to follow.

"Hurry!" he urged.

Blackclaw bent her hind legs and leaped, staggering as her paws hit the slippery surface, but managing to keep her balance. The two apprentices came next. Sandstar stopped when he was halfway across and waited, the river water lapping his paws, while the other cats leaped out behind him.

Because the Riverclan cats were so weak they were agonizingly slow, bracing themselves for each leap. Blackclaw reached him first, and Sandstar edged to the side of the stone to let her go past. The two apprentices were still someway behind. Sandstar's claws scraped the rough stone in his impatience, though he tried to stay calm. When the first dark shapes of pursuing cats slipped out of the reeds he forced himself to say nothing. Brookpaw was just nerving himself to leap; Sandstar locked his gaze with the younger cat's. "Come on," he mewed steadily. "You're doing fine."

But as his brother gathered himself, Featherpaw, a couple of stones behind him, spotted the Shadowclan warriors racing along the riverbank. "They're coming!" he yowled.

Caught off balance, Brookpaw misjudged the distance and fell short. His forepaws landed on the stone, but his hindquarters splashed into the river. The current bubbled around him, dragging at his thick fur as he scrabbled to pull himself to safety.

"I'm slipping!" He gasped. "I can't hold on!"

Sandstar jumped back onto the previous stone, barely managing to balance in the space left by Brookpaw's clawing forepaws. He fastened his teeth in the apprentice's scruff just as the younger cat lost his grip and slid backward into the river. For a few heartbeats Sandstar felt his own paws sliding on the smooth rock under Brookpaw's weight and the force of the current.

Then he spotted Silverstream swimming up behind his son, paws thrusting strongly through the icy water. The silver tabby warrior shoved his shoulder underneath Brookpaw and heaved him upward. Sandstar managed to haul the apprentice out to crouch shivering on the rock.

Glancing toward the Riverclan shore, Sandstar saw Patchpaw urging Featherpaw onto the next stone, getting her own paws wet to leave him space to stand on the driest part.

Behind them, the pursuing cats had reached the first stone. Blackfoot was in the lead, flanked by Jaggedtooth and three or four others—too many to fight, Sandstar realized.

"Come on!" he yowled. "Hurry!" he nudged the shivering Brookpaw. "Keep going—follow Blackclaw!"

Blackfoot crouched, ready to spring, her eyes fixed on the stepping stone where Patchpaw had put herself between Featherpaw and the Shadowclan warrior. Sandstar's belly clenched. The loner was brave, but her training days were far behind her and she would be no match for a seasoned warrior like Goldenstar's deputy.