Warriors Fanfic Previews

The Flood

The rain poured down hard, dripping on Eelstrike's sleeping form. The shecat didn't wake for the rain though. She awoke to the sound of yowling cats. 

"There's too much flooding! Everyone move to higher ground!"someone yelled. Eelstrike awoke with a start, and realized that her twig woven nest was already starting to float. She lept from her nest and saw other warriors starting to stir in a panic. As a Riverclan warrior, she'd seen floods before, but this water was rising faster than anything she'd experienced. Cats rushed out of the dens. The camp was in chaos. 

"Where's Poolstar?" a black and white tom cried. She looked around and saw her brother, Webfoot helping the old shecat out of her den. 

"Ok everyone," the dark tabby shouted. "We're moving inland towards the hills. Everyone stick together."

"Reedpaw?" She called out for her apprentice in the dark. A dark red cat swam over to her. "Stay close to me." The shecat nodded. Despite Webfoot's urging to stay clam The cats scrambled up the hill in disarray. The surging floodwater below was now high enough that a cat standing at the bottom would be completely submerged. The rain slashed at her face and howled furiously, making it hard to see or hear anything. As they were almost up the tallest hill she looked back at her apprentice. 

"I guess you were right about a big storm coming. You could be a medicine cat with that sense of intuition." 

"Is everyone here?" Poolstar called. 

"I lost Smokekit!" a queen shrieked from farther down the hill. She had two kits clinging to her back. 

"I was carrying him in my jaws the water took him!" she cried. 

Webfoot looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry. But the water down there is to rough. It could drown even the best swimmer. He's--" 

Before the deputy could finish his sentence Eelstrike hurled herself down the hill towards the underwater camp. 

"Come back! You'll drown!" Webfoot ordered. 

The dark brown shecat plunged into the pitch black water. Immediately she realized that her brother may have been right for once. Violent currents threatened to pull her under. 

"Smokekit! Smokekit!" she paddled towards the ruins of the nursery.  The turbulent waves thrust a large branch towards her. The heavy branch knocked her under.  She flailed and thrashed as she desperately tried to right herself and get to the surface. Her head broke the water line and she gasped. 

"Help!" a tiny voice called. She whipped her head around searching for the source. A few fox lengths away, the tiny scrap of wet fur was clinging to a patch of tangled reeds. She swam towards him. 

"Climb on to my back. I'll get you to safety." The little tomkit leapt from the reeds onto her neck. She held back a wince as his tiny claws dug into her fur. Her webbed paws struck the water forcefully as she battled the current. They had almost reached solid land. Then a sickening crack rang out above her. An enormous tree slammed into the water. 

'No,' she thought as waves engulfed her. Her entire body went spiraling under. She felt her tail brush the bottom of the river, no, the camp. 

Under the water the roaring sounds of the wind and thunder were deafened. 

'It's so peaceful,' she thought . Her lungs screamed for air. 'I could just stay down here forever.' Her vision started to go dark.

'No!' a voice inside her screamed. 'Smokekit. Your clan. They need you.' With renewed energy she pushed her legs against the ground and swam to the surface. Her head broke the water as she gulped in the sweet air. ]

"Eelstrike!" the kit yelled. He was clinging to a massive willow tree that used to be the leader's den. She made it to the tree a latched her claws on. Smokekit carefully climbed onto her scruff. 

She struck out again towards her clanmates. The rain and wind beat down on her face and the rocking water threatened to drown her. Her claws felt ground beneath them and she hurled her self up the soggy hill. Out of the water, she felt lighter and a bit unsteady. Reedpaw rushed over to her. 

"Eelstrike, you're crazy." The brown shecat's legs gave way and she crumpled in a heap. Smokekit climbed off her and sprinted towards his mother who nuzzled him, still wailing.

Swanheart the medicine cat dashed over to her. 

"Thanks to you, we didn't lose a single clanmate. All of Riverclan-"  Eelstrike didn't hear the rest as her senses faded.