RIFT - MOTHERS RAGE

1

The forest was dark, shadows stretching long beneath the dense canopy of leaves. Ravenstep, a sleek black she-cat, led her companions through the undergrowth. Emberclaw, a muscular ginger tom, followed closely behind, his steps almost silent despite his size. Frostwhisper, a silver she-cat with ice-blue eyes, brought up the rear, her gaze darting around as if she could see through the fabric of time itself. They moved silently, the only sound the occasional drip of rain from the leaves above. The air was thick with the scent of an approaching storm, and the sky was darkening, heavy clouds rolling in. They could hear the distant rumble of thunder, growing louder with each passing moment.

As they neared the river, Ravenstep raised her tail, signaling them to stop. They crouched in the shadows, their eyes fixed on a pretty tortoiseshell she-cat standing at the riverbank with three tiny kits huddled around her paws, scared and complaining.

"Mapleshade," Frostwhisper whispered, her voice tinged with sorrow. "And her kits..."

"Come on, we need to cross before it gets dark."
The little brown kit hung back. "I don't want to!" she wailed. "There's too much water!"

"You'll be fine," Mapleshade insisted. She herded Larchkit and Patchkit alongside their sister. "I'll be right behind you." Patchkit looked over his shoulder. "Promise we'll be okay?"
"I promise."
The ginger-and-white tom stepped bravely into the waves. Almost at once the water washed over
his head but he fought his way up, spluttering. His littermates followed him. Mapleshade watched the three small heads bob to the first stepping-stone. They scrambled out and stood belly-deep in water, shivering.

"Wait for me!" Mapleshade called. "I'm coming!" Gritting her teeth, she waded into the river. The water sucked at her fur, chilling her to the bone. She forced herself to strike off from the shore and churn her paws, propelling herself toward the stepping-stones.

Suddenly there was a roar from somewhere upstream. "Swim faster!" screeched Petalkit. "Something's coming!"

"We have to help!" Emberclaw hissed, already moving. His paws thud harshly against the ground as he made his way towards the river.

"We have to get the kits back to shore before they drown!" Ravenstep sprinted after Emberclaw, Frostwhisper right behind the leader.

"What about Mapleshade?" Frostwhisper called as they readied themselves to plunge into the icy cold water. "She'll be fine, RiverClan will come to help but the kits will drown before they arrive." The black she-cat replied as she leapt into the river, the cold water lapping at her fur and dragging her.

Mapleshade glanced sideways to see a wall of water bearing down on her, sweeping branches and debris ahead of it. She paddled furiously but the current was dragging her away from the stones, not toward them. "Hold on!" she screeched to the kits as the wave crashed over her head.

The time travelers plunged into the river, the icy water shocking their senses. The current was fierce, pulling at their limbs as they fought to reach the struggling kits. Ravenstep's heart pounded as she saw one of the kits, a tiny ginger and white tom, being swept downstream. She pushed harder, muscles burning, and managed to grab him by the scruff just as he went under.

Mapleshade was thrust to the bottom of the river by the force of the flood. Branches thudded against her and when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but bubbles and churned-up pebbles. With her chest screaming for air, she clawed her way to the surface and burst out, gasping. Her flailing front paws struck something hard; unsheathing her claws, she managed to haul herself onto the rock. Somehow she had made it to the first stepping-stone. She looked around.

The kits had gone. Mapleshade stared into the water in horror. Any hopes that they had struck out for the second stone vanished when she saw three tiny shapes being swept downstream.
"Help!" wailed Petalkit before a wave pushed her under.