Darksong's Struggle

Chapter 8

Darkpaw managed to fall asleep within a few hours, though it was difficult on an empty stomach. His suspicions that ShadowClan was struggling with food grew, and fear shot through him as he wondered if they would starve him, Webpaw, and Brindlepaw to keep them quiet. The entire night, Darkpaw thought about StarClan and his own Clan. If he was a medicine cat apprentice, shouldn't they be sending him a message? An omen? Anything? But however it worked, StarClan was silent.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but his dreams were dark and silent, the rustling of leaves pounding in his ears as a stiff wind blew across the pine forest. He felt grateful that the prison was so sheltered, but it wouldn't take a genius to know that they were prisoners, not guests.

Faint dawn light filtered through the bramble cover of the den, and Darkpaw blinked open his eyes. For a moment, he was shocked by the cold floor of the prison, then remembered what had happened the day before and sighed with despair. Beside him, Brindlepaw stirred, while Webpaw was curled up in the back of the den, his head turned away so Darkpaw couldn't tell if he was asleep or not.

"Where are we?" Brindlepaw mewed, lifting his head.

"ShadowClan camp, remember?" Darkpaw let a bit of his anger slip out of his mouth. He was frustrated at Brindlepaw for what had happened, but remembered that the tom had only wanted to help. And ShadowClan was the real bad guy here. Sibling rivalries wouldn't help in this situation.

Brindlepaw groaned. "Where are those foxhearts, anyways? They promised they'd feed us and I'm still waiting."

"They'll feed us. ShadowClan cats aren't... that evil." Webpaw spoke up from the back of the den. So he wasn't sleeping.

Brindlepaw's claws sank into the soft earth, as if he was imaging they were a ShadowClan cat's fur. "I wouldn't put it past them," He hissed. "They stole prey from our territory, then blamed it on us. If that isn't 'that evil' I don't know what is."

"It could be worse," Darkpaw pointed out. Yet his brother's words made the blood in his ears roar. Were the ShadowClan cats so desperate they couldn't even feed their own prisoners?

"I'm going to see what's going on," Brindlepaw mewed.

Before Darkpaw or Webpaw could stop him, he padded to the entrance to the den and reared up on his hind paws. "It's too high," Webpaw tried to discourage him, but Darkpaw knew that once Brindlepaw had a goal, he wouldn't stop himself from doing it.

The black tomcat sprang upward, sending dirt flying into Webpaw and Darkpaw's face. Darkpaw shook the earth away and watched as his brother dug his claws into the lip of the den, struggling to haul himself up. Instinctively, Darkpaw shot forward and arched his back as high as it could go to give Brindlepaw a boost. His brother's dangling hind paws landed on his back, and he winced as unsheathed claws dug into his fur.

Brindlepaw's hind paws lifted off him as the tom hauled himself up. Darkpaw winced and backed away, staring up at his brother as he wriggled out of the bramble covering and stood on the lip of the hollow, glancing down at the brothers. "Made it!" He rasped, sounding out of breath.

"Great!" Webpaw sounded sarcastic. "Now what?"

The question seemed to hit Brindlepaw like a stone; the excitement and confidence drained from his eyes. Then they lit with determination. "Webpaw, grab my paws, and Darkpaw, hold onto his tail. I'll pull you all up!"

"Is that safe?" Webpaw questioned.

"No, but you know what's more unsafe? Staying here!" Brindlepaw dangled his forepaws down into the den. "So grab on and stop fussing!"

Webpaw sighed ruefully, then reached up and allowed Brindlepaw to grasp his forepaws. Darkpaw tried to bite down as lightly as possible on his brother's tail, knowing how much it hurt to have your tail bit. He instantly realized that this was probably a bad idea, as Brindlepaw was struggling as he pulled.