Warriors: Storm Coming - Rising Dawn

Chapter 14

As Creekpaw helped Rainheart and Rabbitfur with herbs, she fretted about Thistlebreeze and Emberpaw. They had disappeared a while ago with no trace. Creekpaw worried they had been captured by Twolegs or attacked, or worse, died. She shook away the horrible thoughts.

"I need some horsetail," Rainheart meowed, an edge of impatience to her voice.

"Oh, what?" Creekpaw looked up.

Rainheart's gaze softened. "Are you worried about your friends? I'm sure they are fine," she meowed. "Now, please get me some horsetail,"

Creekpaw nodded and padded towards the stash of herbs in the hollow, carefully selecting horsetail. She padded back over and gave Rainheart the horsetail.

"Thank you," she meowed. "Graytail's wound from a badger attack recently is infected," As Rainheart padded away, Creekpaw turned back to her thoughts.

"Oh StarClan, please tell me I made the right choice," she murmured, thinking of how Larkpaw had left. Had Larkpaw been hurt or injured? She thought of Emberpaw and Thistlebreeze's disappearance. Were they okay?

"Creekpaw, you seem distracted today," Rainheart meowed as she returned. "Go lie down,"

Nodding, Creekpaw laid down in her new nest made of feathers and moss. She opened her eyes to see a lush green forest; StarClan's hunting grounds. She saw a pale ginger she-cat with pale blue eyes. "Who are you?" Creekpaw meowed.

"Sunheart, an old StormClan medicine cat," she meowed.

"Why—" Creekpaw began.

"In shadows deep, where tansy blooms beneath the sky. Danger unseen, the clans will cease. Up in the mountains, hawks perch. The clans must be saved." Sunheart went on.

Creekpaw opened her mouth to speak, but then she woke up; moonlight streaming into the ravine hollow. She saw Rainheart entering the hollow, carrying burdock root. "Go back to sleep, Creekpaw." Rainheart meowed, settling into the nest beside Rabbitfur.

Creekpaw closed her eyes, worried about what her dreams would be like. She fell into a deep sleep; darkness swallowing her. She tried to open her eyes and once she did, she wished she'd kept them closed. She saw a dark, foggy forest. She began to pad forward nervously.

"Are you lost, dear?" a voice meowed.

Terrified, Creekpaw turned around to see a ragged tortoiseshell and white she-cat. Her amber eyes glinted. "W-who are you?" Creekpaw meowed, backing up. Her eyes were wide with terror. "Are you from StarClan?"

"StarClan?" the tortoiseshell she-cat spat. "That place of dead cats thinking they know everything?"

Creekpaw was shocked to hear such words about StarClan. "B-but—" she protested. "It's StarClan!"

"You are far away from their hunting grounds," the tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Where am I?!" Creekpaw yowled.

"The Place of No Stars," the tortoiseshell she-cat meowed. "The Dark Forest," she spat as Creekpaw's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I'm a medicine cat," Creekpaw meowed, turning away

The tortoiseshell she-cat followed her. "Nobody's saving you tonight," she meowed. "You're all alone,"

"Who are you?" Creekpaw meowed.

"I'm Mapleshade,"

Creekpaw froze with horror; she had heard stories of Mapleshade passed on from elders, but she never expected meeting Mapleshade.

"Let me guess," Mapleshade meowed, turning around and walking in circles. "You think I'm an average villain, evil and cold and ruthless." She whipped around. "But the clans are ruthless!" she spat.

Creekpaw backed up, her eyes wide.

"They ruined my life!" Mapleshade's claws slid out. "I'll make them pay!"

"No!" Creekpaw gasped as Mapleshade approached her. "Please, stop!"

Mapleshade hissed, her evil amber eyes glittering with amusement. "Run, little kit. Run as fast as you can, but you can't escape me."

Creekpaw turned and ran as fast as she could, her paws thundering on the rough, dirty forest floor. Her tail streamed out behind her as she ran rapidly. Claws sank into her back, holding a tight grip on her lithe body. She felt fresh blood well out of the wounds, already smelling the tang of the hot sticky blood.

A paw prodded her side; Creekpaw didn't dare move, thinking it was Mapleshade's unsheathed paw about to claw her flank until she had no fur. She opened one eye, then the other to see she was laying in her nest in the medicine den.

"Creekpaw, you were thrashing around all night. Are you okay?" Rainheart meowed.

Creekpaw nodded, she didn't dare tell Rainheart the horrors of her dream. "Just a nightmare," she meowed.

Rainheart's eyes widened in shock. "Your flank! It's bleeding!"

Creekpaw twisted her head and saw blood pouring out of fresh scratches in her flank. That must have been Mapleshade, are the lines between the dream world and the real world really that thin? she thought.

"Why are you bleeding?" Rainheart meowed.

"Probably just a thorn in my nest," Creekpaw lied quickly. "I can treat it,"

Rainheart nodded. "Okay, are you sure? Rabbitfur and I were planning on finding some herbs. Can we really leave you alone?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Creekpaw assured her.

"Okay," Rainheart padded out of the hollow, followed by Rabbitfur.

Relieved to be alone, Creekpaw searched the herb collection for cobwebs. She patched up the scratches with cobwebs and laid back down in her nest, resting. She didn't try to fall asleep, just lay down with her tail wrapped over her nose. "Sunheart, what is happening?" she whispered to herself softly.

She lay unmovingly in her nest for what felt like hours. She only moved when she heard paw steps, alerting her that Rabbitfur and Rainheart were back.

Rabbitfur carried horsetail in her mouth, while Rainheart had collected some borage. The two of them deposited their herbs into the herb collection before padding out of the hollow.

Creekpaw lay in her nest, observing but not moving. She felt too tired to speak or move. She was grateful for Rainheart's lack of questions.

After laying in her nest for a few more minutes, she decided to think more about her dreams. First it was the dream of a cat being chased and attack, now I'm getting visits from the Dark Forest. What is the root of these dreams? She wished interpreting dreams was as easy as memorizing herbs.

She snapped back to reality when the scent of a juicy, warm mouse filled her nose. She looked up and saw Rabbitfur dropping a mouse at her paws. "Thanks," Creekpaw meowed, taking a bite of the warm mouse. It was fresh and warm; perfectly caught. She savoured the taste of the delicious mouse.

As she ate the last morsels of the mouse, she felt frustrated. StarClan, what are you trying to tell me?