Silver Snow (Book 1)

Chapter 10

This time, Snowtail didn't have a dream... Or a nightmare. If she had one, Needlestar wasn't there, haunting her until the was on the brink of insanity. She was running through a grassy mountain range, happy, for once. While running, fierce winds suddenly whistled through the sky. The clouds blocked the once-shimmering sun until is was completely black around her. Cats were being tossed everywhere and then Snowtail was swept up, flung into a river and engulfed in murky black water.

Snowtail gasped in horror, leaping awake and stepping on Alpinebranch's head. "OW!" he yowled, "WATCH IT, YOU MOUSE-BRAINED IDIOT!" "Shut UP!" Scissorclaw hissed. "I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A BIT OF SLEEP EVER SINCE YOU DOG BRAINS STARTED YOUR STUPID QUARRELING! NOW BE QUIET AND GO TO BED!" It was like being scolded and punished by an abusive and grumpy father once again. The black and white she-cat flinched. "Listen, I'm just TIRED, OK? At least TRY not to have any nightmmares, or else you'll provoke sleeping ugly over there." he motioned to Alpinebranch who was still muttering and grumbling.

***

The breeze was unusually strong, and kits had to be held close to avoid being swept away. The training was restricted to camp and nobody was aloud to go out unless they were warriors. Snowtail had volunteered to hunt. "Geez, it's really windy out here." she hissed, pushing against the wind towards a swath of trees to sheild them. Finchsplash and a few more warriors that were unknown to her followed behind. The wind was now roaring ominously, as if it were preparing to swallow them whole. "Um, Finchsplash? It's getting a bit dangerous, we should... Go back." the ginger she-cat growled. "Not until we find prey, Rainsong." the dappled gray she-cat whom Snowtail now knew was Rainsong, lowered her head and looked extremely worried. "B-but I have my two kits back home, you know, Sagepaw and Emberpaw? What if the wind swallows us?" "Stop being so paranoid, I've seen worse." she tried to look directly into the wind, getting stinging eyes in the process. "I'm going back." Rainsplash growled, turning in the direction of the camp. "Coward." hissed one of the other warriors. "Is it so cowardly to leave to protect my sons?" the queen turned, rounding on the ebony colored tom. "It is to leave on the chance to protect our clan." his hackles rose. "Enough." growled Finchsplash, "Leave, Rainsplash. We don't need a paranoid queen."

"Um, Finchsplash..." Snowtail warned, "I don't think the wind should be pulling us.... Or the trees..." she turned, noticing that small trees were being uprooted. The patrol leader's ears flattened. "Oh no, hurry, run and warn the camp." she turned, fleetly dashing towards the cave. A yowl echoed from where she stood, "Prepare the dens! A hurricane is approaching!"

***

Nobody had enough time, the swirling mass of trees and water had hit and nobody was being spared. "StarClan, show mercy..." Snowtail whispered. The faint voice of a she-cat called her. "R-run, Snowtail... Save y-yourself..." It was Finchsplash. She was being slowly crushed by a rock. "I knew the Prophecy was true... You are the One... Now go, you h-have to survi-" and she was swept into the air.

Run, keep running... Snowtail thought, sprinting aimlessly. She kept running, stumbling on rocks and gravel that were being loosened. Pain shocked through her head as a rock slammed into her cheek, splashing into the deep, dark river water. The freezing water froze her as she struggled to paddle for her life. Her paw managed to strike through the water, but she was being dragged down, flung into a waterfall that never seemed to end

Many hours, or what seemed like years, passed, and Snowtail slammed into the side of a lake, letting herself drift onto a rocky shore that smelled of pine needles and tree sap. She barely had strength to cough as water dribbled out of her mouth. Crunching split through the silent air, growing louder every second Snowtail struggled for breath, and finally, reaching right next to her head. She felt fur brushing against her own and felt the sniffing breath of someone, or something. "She's dead, I know it."

"Her heart is beating, idiot."

"True."

The cat who thought she was dead had a quizzical voice and the one who had called him an idiot was serious with a hint of sarcasm. "We'll take her to camp."

With those five words, she was hoisted onto the shoulders of something and brought through the woods.