BOOK 1~A Broken Beginning

Chapter 28

     "Yea, Blazepaw we're all here together!" Snowsoar purred. Blazepaw gave them a nervious glance and stepped up, Echostorm by his side.

     "Where are we?" Bramblefur hissed.

     "Starclan is leading us here!" Blazepaw retorted.

     "Rats!" Hollowthorn exclaimed. The cats looked up seeing red beady eyes glaring down.

     Snowsoar bristled her tail and leaped at a rat, another rat leaping on top of her. Hollowthorn snarled viciously and knocked the rat off and tried to dig his claws into the rat's jugular.

     Blazepaw froze and backed up nervously before a rat tackled him. Blazepaw struggled and threw the rat off as Echostorm leaped at the rat and landed on its neck, snapping it.

     "Blazepaw, duck!" Bramblefur yowled. Blazepaw ducked immediately and air brushed above him. Bramblefur picked up the scent of a strong rat and dashed towards it.

     'Without the leader, there are no commands to listen to!' Bramblefur thought, leaping into a small cave, the entrance blocked by thick bramble. Bramblefur glanced back seeing Echstorm fighting side by side with Blazepaw against two large rats. Bramblefur sighed looking with a pang of jealousy then leapt into the brambles. He winced as it pricked his pads but he crawled up fitting through a small space. Inside was a large fat rat resting bramblefur snarled and charged bowling it over and raking his claws down its belly. The rat snarled and swatted its front legs at him clawing his cheek roughly. Bramblefur snarled and snapped down on its neck and twisted his head hearing a sickening crack.

     The fighting stops small footsteps could be heard running out of the small bramble den.

     "Bramblefur?!" Echostorm called. Bramblefur leapt back up and slipped though the enterance of the bramble wall and jumped down padding to Echostorm. She rushed to him worriedly and licked his cheek where he got scratched. Bramblefur purred lightly and nuzzeled her gently.

     "Let's continue!" Blazepaw exclaimed.

     "Did we crawl through bramble when we went into this cave?" Blazepaw asked.

     "Actually, we did..." Echostorm replied.

     "The cave of bramble!" Snowsoar exclaimed.

     "Right!" Bramblefur said, then looked at the dark tunnel ahead of them. "Blazepaw, lead the way,"

     Blazepaw nodded and padded into the tunnel, followed by the other cats, Snowsoar and Echostorm helping him.

      "Here something happens here!" Blazepaw froze. Echostorm felt Bramblefur pad right beside her. Their pelts were brushing.

     "Snowsoar is acting different!" Hollowthorn exclaimed. Blazepaw looked at his sister seeing her glaring at then and her teeth bared. Suddenly a low growl from behind. Bramblefur was also smirking with his claws extended.

     "The Dark Forest is taking them over," Blazepaw whispered. Echostorm froze as she heard a tom's voice whisper in her head.

     "No!" She snapped shaking her head violently. When she shook it it hit the moss covered side of the hollow and the voice vanished.

     "Are you ok?" Hollowthorn asked worriedly. Echostorm nodded and glanced at Blazepaw who was swaying on his paws.

     "Wait!" Hollowthorn exclaimed. He bat his paw at Blazepaw's head and immediately the tom looked up ad his normal self.

     "Hit their heads!" Hollowthorn ordered. Echostorm bashed Bramblefur head and his eyes lit up to its normal self again.

    "Hollowthorn has another mate," a tom's voice whispered. Snowsoar whipped her gaze at Hollowthorn.

    "Clovertail!" Hollowthorn snapped. Echostorm tilted her head in confusion.

     'That's the name of the riverclan elder when we were kits she's dead,' Echostorm thought.

     "Sharpkit!" Bramblefur exclaimed.

     "Ivypaw!"

     "Moonfeather!"

     Echostorm paused and thought for a moment, "Shardkit!"