Stormtail's Secret

Chapter 12

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. Then Whitewhisker meowed quietly, "rest now. You'll be better in the morning." Snowstar was still breathing hard. Luckily, only me and Whitewhisker had heard that the leader lost six lives, all at once. I squeezed out of the den and cats crowded me.

"What happened?"

"Did he die?"

"How is he?" All the questions overwhelmed me. I ran to the thorn barrier and broke through into the forest. It was quiet in the forest, and I decided to hunt. I pick up the whiff of rabbit and follow it to a bramble thicket. Two brown ears stick out and I drop into my nest hunting crouch. It doesn't see me until it's too late. I pounce and give it a swift bite to the neck.

"Stormtail, watch out!" A yowl sounds behind me, but it is too late. A russet colored creature pounces on me and grabs me by the scruff. It throws me like a rag doll and I hit a tree hard. It lunges at me, then stops and falls to the ground. A fluffy white cat is tackling the fox, and it looks like he is winning. I get up to help but just then, the fox turns its head around and bites Snowstar's neck. He falls to the ground with a thump. The fox runs off in the direction of the camp.

"Snowstar!" I yell. I bound over to him. Blood is trickling from his neck. At first, I think he is dead, until I see the slight rise and fall of his flanks. I'm torn between going back to camp and seeing if the fox is attacking, or helping Snowstar. Then, I have an idea. I drag the leader between two oak roots and tell him, "Stay there," but I don't think he will go anywhere.

I race to the camp and through the entrance. The fox definitely went this way. As I enter the camp, warriors are everywhere, fighting the fox with well aimed blows. "Whitewhisker!" I yowl. He can barely hear me over the noise of the battle, but the black and white cat appears in the entrance to the den. I wave my tail to signal him to come to me.

"What is it? I'm kind of busy if you hadn't noticed," Whitewhisker growls.

"It's Snowstar, he got a nasty neck wound from that fox. He's under the tree right outside the camp to the left of the bracken thicket," I meow. The medicine cat's eyes widen into shock. He races out of the camp toward the tree, and I follow behind him.

When we got there, Snowstar is panting heavily. "Stormtail, come here," rasps the snow cat.

"It's okay Snowstar, you'll be fine," I say. "Whitewhisker will take care of-"

Snowstar interrupts me. "No. You and me both know this is my destiny. Bye Stormtail, you were a good deputy, but you will be an even greater leader." The last words start to blur together and his eyes start to droop.

"Save him!" I screech.

"I can't. He's in the paws of StarClan now."

Then, Snowstar's breathing stops. Forever.